1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a service intermediation apparatus for interconnecting an online service, which is provided by utilizing a plurality of information processing apparatuses, and a user.
2. Description of the Related Art
There have been intermediation sites that provide a user with online shopping services. These sites successively provide a client terminal with, for example, a link to a shopping site for ordering products online and a link to a settlement site for settling purchase expenses of the products.
Further, conventionally, when a server has received an alarm from devices, an abnormality of these devices is notified to a client terminal by changing screen information. According to this conventional technique, if the shopping site is in an out-of-service state due to an occurrence of a failure, the intermediation site only notifies the client terminal of the state or notifies the client terminal without providing a link to the shopping site. Further, if the settlement site is in an out-of-service state due to occurrence of a failure, the intermediation site only notifies the client terminal of the state or notifies the client terminal without providing a link to the settlement site. That is, in this conventional technique, the intermediation site is only able to notify the client terminal of the operating state in a site having a change or an abnormality.
Accordingly, even if the settlement site has an abnormality and is out of service, if the shopping site is available, a user can first access the shopping site in accordance with a link provided by the intermediation site. Then, the user carries out a procedure for an order. The procedure includes inputting selection of a type of products, the number of products, user information, and delivery information, and transmitting this information to the shopping site. Then, the user acknowledges the state that the user cannot purchase the products, since the user cannot utilize the settlement site to carry out settlement processing. That is, although the user finally cannot purchase the products, the user has carried out a wasteful operation such that the user accesses the shopping site to carry out the procedure for ordering the products.